Oh my goodness...where do I begin?

Hmm...first of all, when we met, you were just beginning as a writer. With early English skills and very generic characters, you had so much to learn about the basic principals of storytelling and character development. But you rolled up your metaphorical sleeves and dove in anyway. Over the years I have had the enormous pleasure of watching you grow into a vivid, descriptive author, with great talent in capturing moments and emotions in a life, no matter how fictional in practice, that feel real to the reader. I can pick any of your recent stories and experience a lingering taste of the tactile and ethereal sensations of each character. And that takes real skill, especially in a world filled with hundreds of thousands of dingy little professionally-published books, whose authors cannot be bothered to use a verb other than 'said' to describe their characters' vocal expressions, no matter the circumstances of the scene.

This is not a 'dumb bundle of words'. This is a journey; a peek into a point in time where two lives connect, and are impacted accordingly. And that is beautiful.

I love Aya. I genuinely do. I wish I were better at drawing her; for some reason, when it comes to drawing other people's characters, I tense up and fear I shall portray or capture them wrong, and most sketches never turn out to my liking. She's strong and proud and every bit as fierce as Kisho, but not without vulnerability or softness.

I often picture Kisho as the grumpy idiot who mopes around, growling at everyone else about his problems, and only snapping out of it when the action picks up and it's just not wise to sacrifice the sanctity of team spirit for petty grudges. But this story completely captures another side of him, one that is rarely explored by anyone, even himself. The thing that makes the two of them so good together is their ability to match one another. Kisho is challenging. He's not always patient in situations where others would be. He argues and questions constantly, even against himself. He can be feisty (Which you captured so well!), but so is Ayarain. She doesn't back down to his challenges; rather, she meets them head on, getting right in his face.

There's something about that which is utterly delightful to me. This sense of proud equality, when met in the middle, melting into tenderness in the privacy of a secluded area. This piece is beautifully descriptive; the sounds and textures in particular were very vivid in my mind upon first read, but the emotion, the joy and passion, is not lacking. Sometimes, I feel that authors tend to loose the happiness contained in a couple in favor of mere physical intimacy, but you've balanced everything out so well.

This is an amazing gift, and I am so blown away by it. Your friendship already means a good deal more to me than I'm adequate at expressing, and your generosity and kindness is always so touching and encouraging. Thank you. Thank you.